The RocMag Blog

Finding The Perfect Magnetic Mate

We all know that February is the month of love, and really aren’t we all looking for our perfect mate? Like people, magnets are very particular about what other magnets they like to pair up with. While there is no Tinder for magnets, the article below can help you become the perfect matchmaker when it comes to magnetic pairings so that your projects live happily ever after.

Soul Mates

If an absolutely perfect match every time is what you are looking for, and you can use flexible magnet, then Match Pole magnet may be just what you need. Match Pole is a two-part, flexible magnet system with an A and a B side that line up perfectly with each other 100% of the time. This is typically found in a 60 mil thick material and in ½” to 1” widths. Common applications that use this type of magnet are trade show booths, and anywhere where you wish to match up flexible magnet to flexible magnet.

Opposites Attract

If you are looking to use Neodymium magnets as a set for a magnetic closure, then you will need to make sure that you are aligning the North Pole of one magnet to the South Pole of the other magnet. Often when creating a closure with neodymium magnets people buy them with adhesive to make assembling their project easier. If this is the case, be sure to ask for half with adhesive on the North Pole and half with adhesive on the South Pole to make your project simple and effective. Common applications for this pairing are in packaging where the magnets are buried to create an invisible closure.

Instant Bond

If you are using absolutely any type of magnet and going directly to a metal surface, your match is a sure thing. Just be sure that the metal you are trying to attract to is receptive to magnet. This would include any surface that is steel, iron, nickel, cobalt or has a good amount of iron in the mix. Going direct to a metal receptive surface gives you a perfect match whether you are using flexible strip, flexible sheet, rare earth magnets, or magnetic assemblies and creates a good solid bond as there is nothing in between the magnet and the surface.

Kindred Spirits

If your application calls for flexible magnet strip or sheeting to be used, but you do not have a metal receptive surface to adhere to, you may want to use a flexible magnetic receptive material. The advantages to using a flexible magnetic receptive material with strip and sheet is that they will make an instant lasting connection virtually anywhere you need, and you do not have to worry about aligning poles. Flexible magnet will stick anywhere on flexible magnetic receptive, making this a carefree easy romance between the two materials. Common applications for this pairing are POP signage, retail displays and menu boards.

As with any great romance, it is important to have things in common, and too many differences usually end up not working out well. The same is true of magnetic pairings. When successfully mating magnets together it is important to make sure they are of the same magnet family and strength. Therefore, you would not want to mix a flexible magnet with a neodymium magnet, or two different strengths of even the same type of magnet with one another. If one overpowers the other, it will end up draining the other of its magnetic strength, rendering it weak and useless over time. Hopefully this article ends up helping you to decide which magnetic relationship is right for your project, but your sales rep can always assist in matchmaking for you.